Gangolf, St.
GANGOLF, ST.
Historically, an uncertain figure: either the attorney and defender of the abbey of Beza in the Côte d'Or, France, d. 670; or the friend of St. ceolfrid and of St. bede, d. 716; or—as is usually believed—a virtuous and valiant warrior, descendant of a noble family of Burgundy and friend of pepin iii. He was murdered at the instigation of his unfaithful wife and is honored as a martyr of conjugal fidelity. The traditional place of his burial is Varennes–sur–Amance (Haute–Marne). His cult is popular in western and central Europe, e.g., at Florennes in Belgium. The account of his martyrdom, first written toward the end of the ninth century, was rewritten by roswitha in the tenth century.
Feast: May 11; May 12 (Langres).
Bibliography: j. p. migne, Patrologiae latina, 137:1083–94. Acta Sanctorum, May 2:643–652. Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum, 7.1:142–174. Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Scriptores, 15.2:791–796. e. martin, Histoire des diocèses de Toul, de Nancy et de S. Dié, v.1 (Nancy 1900), passim. f. mayer, "Der heilige Gangolf," Freiburger Diözesan–Archiv 67 (1940) 90–139. p. viard, Catholicisme 4:1831–32.
[É. brouette]